Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill — Restaurant in Louisville

I’ve never in my life left a bad review before. I’m usually one to simply not return to an establishment if I have had a bad experience. But unfortunately, We weren’t honored enough guests to granted the privilege to dine here.

My wife and I have been attempting to celebrate our wedding anniversary for weeks. We haven’t had a date night since January due to having a 2nd baby and scheduling issues. We were finally able to go out and celebrate our anniversary. We had a reservation, but were running a little late. The restaurant is 35 minutes from our house and we thought we left with plenty of time to arrive. Unfortunately we had to be rerouted by the gps and we were now 10-15 minutes behind and it was raining. We called the restaurant as a courtesy. The host on the phone wasn’t helpful. Like surprisingly unhelpful. She simply told us that after 15 minutes we would lose our reservation. Nothing else. She just hung up. Didn’t offer to work with us.

We rushed to get there but we were 14 minutes past the reservation time when we pulled into the paddock shops parking lot. By the time we parked and everything, it was 17 minutes.

This is a nice restaurant with expensive dishes, so surely they would have good service in the front of the house and be willing to accommodate customers who are a little late. Nope. I was told that we were marked as no shows and would have to wait for the next available table. I responded that it wasn’t fair because we called ahead and shouldn’t be referred to as no shows. I was then told next available table would be over an hour wait time. I understand their rule, but It was odd that they weren’t even attempting to accommodate us. We weren’t needy. We weren’t trying to get free food or a discount. We didn’t even argue. I know this post seems like we did though, but we didn’t. We were honest and only a little late. They didn’t even pretend to care. I felt unwelcome here. I wasn’t good enough.

I’ve eaten at nice restaurants all over the city and have always been impressed with how friendly and helpful the hosts and hostesses have been. Maybe it was an off day, but I don’t intend to try to come here again. I don’t want to feel unwelcome in a restaurant where I’m expecting to spend $50-100 per person. There are plenty of other restaurants who will take my money while treating me like a valued customer. There are plenty of restaurants who will actually try to get me seated. So I’ll just go to one of them.

EDIT: 4/6/2021 This review was left in October 2020 and nobody from the restaurant has reached out to me at all to respond in any way.

EDIT: 4/5/2022 I still haven't had anyone from this restaurant reach out to me about this unacceptable experience.

EDIT: 11/14/2023 I still haven't had anyone from this restaurant reach out to me about this...

After trying to get in the weekend before, with no success, we made a successful reservation for the next Saturday, and expectantly drove two hours to dine; reservations are highly suggested.

We found our experience good, but not great; disappointing really. Our server had an odd personality that made it hard to tell if she was truly interested in serving us, especially after viewing her chatting it up with the male expediter. Even after trying to engage with her by asking her questions, she maintained an indifference towards us and our experience.

The food was good, but we found the execution falling short. I ordered the French dip, which sounded promising, but texturally the overly loaded medium rare prime rib coated with horseradish cream sauce was not pleasant, and the lackluster au jus did not save the day; the absence of a nice melted cheese was noticed as well. We did have a recook on my girlfriend’s filet, although I found my filet medallions tasty even if the bernaise had an odd cinnamon taste. The au gratin potatoes needed help, and while the deviled eggs had good flavor, they weren’t premium. The parmesan fries were a nice element. The sweet poppyseed table bread was excellent although I wouldn’t call it an appropriate pairing for the menu.

I liked the dimly lit atmosphere, but found the restaurant noise loud: it drowned out the music, so I found myself anxious and ready to go even before the check was placed. I did have to chuckle after noticing all the artwork photography in the restaurant following the theme of “Stoney River” lol.

In all honesty, I wouldn’t go back, because we left disappointed and I didn’t find the food quality amazing enough. Ruth’s Chris is better in service and food quality, and Jeff Ruby’s still remains supreme. It did look like everyone there was enjoying their time, so I wouldn’t say you would be making a mistake by dining there, but I just feel like it...

The restaurant and decor is first class. The greeting staff were very nice. We had a reservation. That helped a lot. The look and vibe is similar to J Alexander's which is a place we attend often. We we're hoping that our experience would supersede J's. Unfortunately, it did not. The meal started with two small biscuits each and they were very delicious! The butter they serve with them also excellent. We ordered a shrimp cocktail. The shrimp were okay but not premium. They served with cocktail sauce that was hot enough to burn your face off. I enjoy sauces to enhance my meal but I think in current times people try to compete to see who can withstand the hottest sauce. I want to enjoy the taste of my food not win some contest. We ordered the lobster bisque soup. It was one of five stars at best. Subpar. We ordered the coffee steak/fillet. It was excellent and well cooked. It is almost as good as steak Maui at J's. We had the mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. I would rate them at 2.5 out of 5 stars. We also had the mushrooms as a side. They were excellent. They were having a special dessert which I think is called a blondie it was very good. The service was subpar for a restaurant of this level. We think the guy might have been new or newer. We are not high needs individuals but this fella was underattentive. We ordered coffees with our dessert and the coffee's never showed but we were charged for it. I even made a comment about getting extra creamer for the coffee and we still didn't get it. We have had some trouble in this city even with J's at times. We never have trouble when we're in Nashville. We may try this restaurant location in Nashville to give them a second chance. I know a lot of business owners are complaining about it being difficult to get good help right now so this may be part of...